Boston Redsox Legend David Ortiz In Stabled Condition After Being Ambushed In Dominican Republic

Former Boston Red Sox slugger and Dominican star David Ortiz is out of surgery and doing "fine," according to his family, after he was shot Sunday at a club in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Ortiz's media assistant, Leo Lopez, told ESPN's Enrique Rojas that Ortiz is stable but still in intensive care.

"Doctors say he is out of danger, but he is heavily sedated and will be in intensive care for the next 24 hours," Lopez said.

Lopez, a veteran reporter, said the operation lasted six hours and was performed by three doctors, led by Dr. Abel Gonzalez. The team had to remove part of Ortiz's intestines and colon, as well as his gallbladder. Ortiz suffered liver damage.

"Doctors say that David is out of danger, thank God," Ortiz's father, Leo Ortiz, told ESPN. "What they have told me post-op is that the doctors believe he will recover quickly."

Leo Ortiz added: "Big Papi will be around for a long time.''

Authorities say Ortiz was ambushed by a man who got off a motorcycle and shot him in the back at nearly point-blank range around 8:50 p.m. local time Sunday at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo.

Ortiz, 43, was taken to the Abel Gonzalez clinic, where he underwent surgery.

The gunman was identified as Eddy Feliz Garcia, 25, according to police spokesman Col. Frank Duran Mejia. Dominican National Police Director Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte said Garcia was captured and beaten by a crowd of people at the bar. He suffered a cranium contusion and trauma to his thorax, left knee and right leg, according to the Dominican Republic's National Health Service. He was treated at the Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo and then released to police custody.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Ortiz was the intended target, Bautista said. Leo Ortiz told local media he has no idea why someone would have shot at his son.

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If you're planning a trip to the Dominican Republic, please be careful. Better yet, maybe scratch your trip if it's possible. It's better to be safe than sorry.